Title of Artwork: “The brig “Mercury” was attacked by two Turkish ships”
Artwork by Ivan Aivazovsky
Year Created: 1892
Summary of The brig “Mercury” was attacked by two Turkish ships
The brig “Mercury” being attacked by two Turkish ships (Russian: ри “еркури”, aтaкованн двум турекими коралми) is an oil on canvas painting completed in 1892 by Russian painter Ivan Aivazovsky (1817-1900). Over 6,000 works were created by Aivazovsky, with seascapes accounting for more than half of them.
It depicts three ships engaged in close combat on a stormy sea; the battle, as the title suggests, takes place between two Turkish warships and another ship known as the Russian brig Mercury. While Aivazovsky painted many seascapes, many of which depicted damaged or shipwrecked ships, few of his works depicted ships engaged in close naval combat.
All About The brig “Mercury” was attacked by two Turkish ships by Ivan Aivazovsky
The depicted battle occurred during the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-1829, which was sparked by the Greeks’ struggle for independence and the events that followed. As a result of the Russians’ participation in the Battle of Navarino, the Turkish sultan closed the Dardanelles to Russian ships and revoked the Akkerman Convention of 1826.
Mercury was a real ship (a 20-gun brig) built on January 28, 1819 in Sevastopol as a patrol ship for the Northern Caucasus coast. Mercury was launched on 7 May 1820 and dismantled on 9 November 1857, built of Crimean oak and equipped with oars. In this regard, it differs from other Imperial Russian Navy brigs of the time; other brigs were not built in this manner because a shallow draught limited and reduced maximum speed significantly. Oars were thought to be inefficient as well. This distinction arose because its initial task was thought to be unique among its designers.
Mercury took part in several significant naval battles during its existence. One of the most notable of these battles pitted the Mercury (commanded at the time by Lieutenant Alexander Kazarsky) and two other brigs against a large complement of 14 Turkish ships returning from Anatolia’s shores. The Turkish victory appeared to be secure at first, but the tides of battle shifted, and Mercury was able to flee after a final, powerful assault by the three brigs, effectively ending the conflict.
After the war, one of the Turkish ships’ navigators praised Mercury’s seaworthiness and the captain’s bravery.
